# Footer

The footer is configured in `settings/footer.md`. It supports a brand display row, navigation groups, social icon links, copyright text, and a tagline.

## Brand display

Add `brandDisplay` to show your brand name and/or logo in the copyright row:

```yaml
# settings/footer.md
brandDisplay: image-text
```

The brand renders centered in the copyright row, between the copyright text (left) and the sitemd badge (right). All four [display modes](/docs/brand-display#display-modes) work: `text`, `image`, `image-text`, `text-image`. When not set, no brand element appears in the footer.

Override the brand name shown in the footer without affecting the header:

```yaml
brandName: My Company Inc.
brandDisplay: text
```

Brand images support [image modifiers](/docs/brand-display#image-modifiers-on-brand-images). See [Brand Display](/docs/brand-display) for full details.

## Navigation items

Footer items use the same format as the [header](/docs/header). Links, buttons, and groups all work:

```yaml
# settings/footer.md
items:
  - group: Contact
    - mailto:support@example.com
  - group: Product
    - Features: /features
    - Pricing: /pricing
  - group: Resources
    - Blog: /blog
    - Docs: /docs
```

Groups render as columns with a heading and a list of links. The `group:` prefix pulls items from `settings/groups.md` when a matching group exists. Inline children override the group definition.

## Group heading links

By default, group headings link to the group's index page (e.g. `/blog` for the blog group). Control this with `headingLink`:

```yaml
items:
  - group: Product
    headingLink: /features
    - Features: /features
    - Pricing: /pricing
  - group: Resources
    headingLink: none
    - Blog: /blog
    - Docs: /docs
```

Set `headingLink: none` to make the heading plain text with no link.

## Email addresses

Email addresses are automatically converted to `mailto:` links anywhere they appear — navigation items, social links, buttons, and author cards. Write the bare address and sitemd adds the `mailto:` prefix for you:

```yaml
items:
  - group: Contact
    - Support: support@example.com
    - hello@example.com
```

The explicit `mailto:` prefix also works if you prefer it:

```yaml
items:
  - group: Contact
    - Support: mailto:support@example.com
    - mailto:hello@example.com
```

When no label is provided, the email address is used as the label.

## Social links

Add icon links with the `social` array. Each entry maps a platform name to a URL or email address:

```yaml
social:
  - github: https://github.com/your-org
  - twitter: https://x.com/your-handle
  - linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/your-co
  - reddit: https://reddit.com/r/your-sub
  - email: hello@example.com
```

| Platform | Icon source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `github` | Simple Icons | |
| `twitter` | Simple Icons | Renders the X logo |
| `linkedin` | Built-in SVG | |
| `youtube` | Simple Icons | |
| `discord` | Simple Icons | |
| `mastodon` | Simple Icons | |
| `reddit` | Simple Icons | |
| `email` | Lucide (`mail`) | Auto-adds `mailto:` to bare addresses |

Icons are inlined as SVG at build time from [Simple Icons](https://simpleicons.org/) and [Lucide](https://lucide.dev/icons/). Unsupported platform names render as plain text. See [Icons](/docs/icons) for how icon resolution works.

## Copyright

The `copyright` field supports two variables:

| Variable | Replaced with |
|---|---|
| `{{year}}` | Current four-digit year |
| `{{brandName}}` | Brand name from `meta.md` (or footer `brandName` override) |

```yaml
copyright: "© {{year}} {{brandName}}"
```

Override the brand name shown in the footer without affecting the header:

```yaml
brandName: My Company Inc.
```

## Tagline

Add a line of text below the footer content:

```yaml
tagline: "Built with sitemd"
```

Leave empty to hide.

## Buttons

Buttons work in footer items just like in the header:

```yaml
items:
  - group: Get Started
    - button: Sign Up: /pricing
    - button: Read Docs: /docs +outline
```

See [Buttons & Links](/docs/buttons-and-links) for all button options.

## Full reference

```yaml
# settings/footer.md
---
# Override brand name (defaults to brandName in meta.md)
# brandName:

# Brand display in copyright row: text, image, image-text, text-image
# brandDisplay:

# Copyright text — {{year}} and {{brandName}} are replaced automatically
copyright: "© {{year}} {{brandName}}"

# Navigation items (same format as header)
items:
  - group: Contact
    - support@example.com
  - group: Latest
    - Blog: /blog
    - Changelog: /changelog

# Social links — displayed as icons
# Supported: github, twitter, linkedin, youtube, discord, mastodon, reddit, email
social:
  - github: https://github.com/your-org
  - twitter: https://x.com/your-handle
  - email: hello@example.com

# Tagline below footer content
tagline: ""
---
```